John Nafeh, HedgeStreet's founder, will remain Chairman of the Board, focusing on business partnerships and strategic issues.

"Steve is a senior executive with more than 30 years of worldwide experience and P&L responsibility in a diverse cross-section of consumer product and service industries," Nafeh said. "Steve has made significant contributions in companies ranging from multi-billion dollar corporations to start-ups and turnarounds, and we are very pleased to have Steve join us."

Race was President of Sony Computer Entertainment from 1993-95 with responsibility for the development, launch and promotion of the Sony PlayStation video game console, one of the most successful products in the history of the electronics industry. From 1995-98, he was CEO of MicroProse Inc., a publicly traded video game company that he turned around, recapitalized and sold to Hasbro Inc.

Since 1999, Race has run his own consulting company working with venture capital groups on financial restructurings of selected portfolio companies, often serving as acting CEO.

"I was immediately attracted to HedgeStreet by its potential as an alternative, highly efficient online marketplace for both retail and institutional customers," Race said. "HedgeStreet has gotten off to a great start in its first year and with this strong footing we intend to press for more growth and value to its customers in the year ahead."

An economics graduate from the University of Pennsylvania (1971), with an MBA from the Wharton Graduate School of Finance and Commerce (1974), Race also has held executive positions at Crown Zellerbach Corp (1974-77); Arthur D. Little Inc. (1977-82); Atari Inc. (1982-84); Worlds of Wonder Inc. (1985-87); Homestar International (1987-90); and Reebok International Ltd. (1990).